Daily Notes - Math 303

5 10 15 20 25

This page is updated regularly.

Day 1

  1. Syllabus
  2. Make sure to activate your ECOM acct. and use your wiu.edu e-mail.
  3. Class list
  4. Information sheets
  5. TCA - Technology Competency Assessment (Teacher Education Program) - http://wiu.edu/TCA/ - required.
  6. Math/teacher ed majors planning to student teach in 2010 should be in Math 303 this semester.

(Tips: In IE, View|text size; Windows Explorer via right-clicking Start; Find-in-page)

Day 2

  1. Get info sheets.
  2. Top Ten Reasons for Using Computers and Calculators to Help Students Learn Mathematics

Day 3

  1. Finish Top Ten
  2. Spreadsheets day 1

Day 4

  1. PC or Mac?
  2. Portfolio planning coming Wednesday--Date TBD--5:00 p.m.
  3. Tutoring (paid) opportunities
  4. Decide of web page building software - Seamonkey or another?
  5. Prep to make web page.
    1. Download Seamonkey + install
    2. www.wiu.edu/guava
      • activate - this sets up an http subdirectory to house web pages (and sets the permissions so that the world can see your web pages)
      • can use to reset permissions, as needed.
    3. Download + install WinSCP - this is for transferring files to and from ECOM (which is the mainframe, which is on the Internet). You can also transferring files using Windows Explorer if on a campus desktop. Wirelessly, WinSCP is the only way.
  6. ICTM Conference in Peoria. Oct. 17 (and 18). Great opportunity.
  7. TCA check.
  8. Spreadsheets day 2.

Day 5

  1. Announcement: Meeting for all math majors, tomorrow, Wed., Sept. 10. 5:00-6:30.
  2. Announcement: Portfolio and planning meeting for Option B math majors Wed., Sept. 17. 5:00-5:35.
  3. Programming on the TI-calculator - IPO program (Input, Processing, Output) - The basic programming paradigms
  4. Introduction to TI-Connect software and cable. Download software at http://education.ti.com/ (or use the Teaching Resources page).

Day 6

  1. Programming on calculator.

Day 7

  1. Cabri Jr geometry software on calculator.
  2. Work day.

Day 8

  1. TI Connect software and cable.
  2. Software evaluation form.

Day 9

  1. Web page making with SeaMonkey.
  2. File types

Day 10

  1. Software demonstrations.
  2. ICTM Conference, Oct. 17. Free transportation. $15 for student registration. Sign up with Sharon in MERO.

Day 11 (Sept. 30)

  1. Software demonstrations.
  2. Fieze patterns - there are 7! (assign homework)

Day 12

  1. Software demonstrations.

Day 13 (Oct. 7)

  1. Sign up for ICTM Conference.
  2. Software demonstrations.
  3. Greatest integer function - homework.

Day 14

  1. Paper #1 due.
  2. Graph paper options and free program.
  3. Applet on Pythagorean Theorem - under "Math Java applets" on the Teaching Resources page.
  4. Assign - Powerpoint on a math topic that could be used for secondary math teaching. Include:____,____,____.

Day 15

  1. Assign - in a group of 2 or 3, create a Word Document (or web page) which describes six top resources on the web site. The following are three of the top web sites for math on the web:

Day 16 (Oct. 16)

  1. Interactive whiteboard demonstrations.
  2. Investigating an infinite sum on a calculator.

Day 17

  1. Preparation for Exam I. Handout. The TI-Connect Cable/software.

Day 18

  1. Preparation for Exam I. Handout. Correspondence applet.
    1. A map is a function. To be a function, each input must be paired with only one output.
    2. injective means 1-to-1 means each output is paired with only one input.
    3. surjective means "onto" means each element of the target set actually does have a preimage. (Note: The term "range" usually means the set of actual outputs. Therefore, a map is onto the range. Sometimes the term "range" may be used for the set of potential outputs (the "target set").)

Day 19 (Oct. 28)

  1. Exam I. Short in-class portion. Take-home portion.

Day 20

  1. GSP Day 1 - Properties of Reflection (p. 36)
    1. overview - basics - Trace

Day 21

  1. GSP Day 2 - Surfer & Spotter (p. 82) / Napoleon's Theorem (p. 85)
    1. Custom Tools.

Day 22

  1. How to make a "washed out" watermark background.
    1. In Office (Word, etc.)
      • Insert photo
      • right click|format picture|picture|recolor (dropdown)|Color modes|washout| (or change the bightness to 70% and the contrast to -70% manually)
      • to save: right click|Save as Picture...! (then you can use the washed out photo on a web page, etc.)
  2. How to "steal" graphics/photos - three methods
    1. (a) Use print screen (which actually puts the entire screen image on the clipboard) and (b) Paint - paste; (c) to crop it in Paint select what you want then copy then File|New then paste; (d) (some simple/easy editing is also possible) and (e) Save as if you need the graphic/photo as a file (or copy if you only need to paste it)
    2. Use Mimio notebook software|Mimio Tools|Screen clipping. You can crop directly. It puts the graphic/photo into the Mimio notebook. From there you can copy. If you need the graphic/photo as a file, use Paint as in I above.
    3. Use SmartBoard notebook software. Works very similar to the Mimio software.
  3. GSP Day 3 -
    1. Creating angles of a fixed size - use transform|rotate.
    2. Midpoint Quadrilaterals and Special Midpoint Quadrilaterals (p. 103). Page 103 is due Nov. 18.

Day 23

  1. How to make videos using MS Windows Media Encoder. http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfjro1/wiu/tea/encoder/encoderfront.htm
  2. Sign up for annotated resources on (physical) sheet of paper in Dr. O's mailbox in MERO. (Recall there is an annotated resources forn on the main M303 page.)
  3. Mean and Median applet on NCTM Illuminations page. http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=160

Day 24

  1. Paper #3 due.
  2. Statistics on the TI calculator.
    1. Entering (editing) data
      1. including from an "outside source," using the TI-Connect cable.
        1. for example: http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfjro1/wiu/stu/page1-99.htm#data
      2. including with frequencies
    2. One-variable stats
      1. mean, median, quartiles, 5 number summary
    3. Graphing
      1. Box and whisker (5 number summary)
      2. Histograms - setting the class size
    4. Regression (curve fitting): linear, quadratic, exponential, etc. see http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfjro1/wiu/stu/calculators/Reg83.htm
  3. Assignment: Get some statistics (probably from the Internet) that make sense and interest you. Download them to the TI calculator. Use the calculator to analyze the data. Create a report: Create a Word document which states the (raw) statistics and analyzes the statistics. Use screen shots from the TI calculator. Include appropriate statistics. For example: mean, median, 5 number summary, box plots (compare box plots), histograms, etc. This is due Thurs., Dec. 4.

Day 25

  1. The Mental Math, Paper-and-Pencil Calculations, Using Technology Question. (MM, PP, UT)

Day 26

  1. Exam I answers. Exam I spreasheet file.
  2. The Big Picture of using computers and technology to help students learn mathematics.
    1. How are the students using the technology?
    2. How is the teacher using the technology?
      • to teach
      • for other teacher tasks

Day 27 (Tues., Dec. 2)

  1. Exam II Assigned.
  2. Algebra on GSP. Graphs, functions, and parameters.
  3. Demonstrating the Geometric Mean on GSP - Day 1.

Day 28

  1. Demonstrating the Geometric Mean on GSP - Day 2.
  2. Annotated resources coming in - see Math 303 page.
  3. Statistics assignment due.

Day 29 (Dec. 9) ~ Meet in MG 216

  1. Note: Meet in MG 216 (due to remodeling in MG 214)
  2. Exam II due.
  3. CBR (Calculator-Based Ranger)and CBL (Calculator-Based Laboratory).
  4. EasyData (from Verier company) - real easy way to plug probes directly into the TI-84. E.g., EasyTemp

Day 30

  1. Take-Home final Exam Assigned. Final Exam Take Home portion.
  2. Combining (add, subtract, multiply, & divide) functions.

Final Exam Session (Tues. 12/16, 3-4:50 p.m.)

  1. Take-Home portion of the final due.
  2. In-class portion:
    1. Work time - four committees.
    2. Wrap-up discussion, sharing, and demonstrations.

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James R. Olsen, Western Illinois University
E-mail: jr-olsen@wiu.edu
Page last updated: December 16, 2008